Saturday, December 3, 2005

CHINESE LEMON CHICKEN

As I am a big fan of Chinese food, This "LEMON CHICKEN“ is always a fulfilling culinary experience for me. It has the merit of being easy to prepare and not too demanding ingredients-wise.

This traditional Cantonese (Southeastern China) dish allies the subtle tangy sourness of lemon juice with the round and nutty taste of the deliciously crispy chicken nuggets. Like all Cantonese dishes, it is not hot nor too spicy, but succulently stir-fried...

You will discover that eating Chinese food at home is not mission impossible, because cooking dishes from this part of the world is not out of your reach! Once you’ve taken up making your own traditional Chinese specialities, you will not miss going to the restaurant as homemade Asian food can prove to be as fine as professionally prepared meals, if not even better!…I’ve based this recipe on The Australian Women’s Weekly “Chinese Cooking Class” cookbook and adapted it according to my own gustative memories based on what I had eaten at the Chinese restaurant and in diverse “fast-foods”.

Method:1. Cut the chicken breasts in strips. Reserve.2. For the sauce, combine the lemon juice, cornstarch, sherry, honey, sugar, water, chicken stock and ginger together in a saucepan.3. Stir over low heat until all the sugar has melted. Then let the sauce boil and thicken. Reserve.4. Beat the egg yolks, soy sauce and two tablespoons water together. Put the cornstarch into a bowl, gradually add the egg mixture and mix well. Salt and pepper to taste.5. Heat up the oil.6. Dip the chicken breast strips into the batter.7. Put a few pieces of chicken into the hot oil and fry until golden. Drain on absorbent paper.8. Keep warm in a moderate oven (~160°C/325°F) while frying the remaining chicken strips.9. Arrange the chicken on a serving plate, spoon hot sauce over and sprinkle with the chopped green shallots.

Remarks:Don’t overcook the sauce, otherwise it will lose all of it’s thickness.Deep-fry the meat in batches.If you wish, you could also use duck fillets or lean pork chops for this recipe.Add the sauce just before serving, otherwise the crispy batter will soften.

Serving suggestions:Eat this dish with Thai jasmine rice or long grain rice.

Rosa, I followed your link via chanit's blog (she always finds the most interesting sites!) and wanted to say how much I enjoyed reading all of your posts on this page. Two posts in particularly caught my eye...the one on ELLE À TABLE. I picked up a mag in France but didn't know that they have distribution in Italy! I'll have to search for it as my french is non-existent and I always need to rely on my husband to translate.

Secondly, that Moqueca de peixe sounds really good. I am nuts for exotic food from the tropics and elsewhere and will definitely give this recipe a try. I look forward to the next post!

Bonjour Rosa, just the other day my friend asked me for a chicken with lemony flavour so I suggested a pan grilled breast served w cream lemon sauce. she wanted something quick but I did promise her to look for more lemony kind of recipe. I will forward her this recipe if you dont mind.

sha:No problem, you can forward this recipe to your friend. I hope she will enjoy eating this dish!

glutton rabbit:I always liked this Cantonese speciality! I love Chinese ans Asian food and I cook a lot of specialities. You see, I'm not afraid to try cooking exotic dishes at home. Mostly, I'm more satisfied by them than if I go out to eat!

Rosa, thank you for this recipe. I decided to cook it for my family tonight (as my first time cooking a main meal "by myself" - except for the rice, which my mother made)... it turned out nicely. My dad ate half of it on his own! Both mum & dad liked it and have asked me to make it again sometime!! :) Thanks again...oh, and I'll definitely be using more of your recipes in the future! :)

Hello, I was just looking for a nice lemon chicken recipe and I came across yours. I think I'll try it out tonight, as it looks and sounds delicious. Thankyou for posting this ^^ I'm sure it'll be lovely, as others have commented on how nice it was :D

LISA: I'm so sorry to hear that your sauce didn't work...Are you sure you mixed the ingredients correctly (dissolving the cornstarch)? Maybe, you overheated the sauce and didn't stir it while it was cooking... I hope it helps!

Rosa ,what can I say ,your lemon chicken was fantastic ,will be making it again and again and again.My batter was not has thick as I think it should have been but that gives me the opportunity to try again.thanks again ,Liz from Glasgow ,Scotland